Spring!

Spring is bustin' out all over Charleston, West Virginia.  I've been distracted from my work by all the action at my bird feeder and in the back yard.  One morning, I recorded six species of birds, a herd of five deer in my neighbor's back yard, three squirrels, a rabbit and (yikes!) a rat.  Called the exterminator about that one.

The birds are singing their spring songs (and you know what that means).  The house finches have been fighting with the English Sparrows for domination at the feeder.  The finches are quite colorful, especially the males, which have rosy heads, breasts and rump spots.


I had work to do last week, so I didn't get to the forest to look for Spring Beauties and ramps, but there were beautiful flowers in my own neighborhood to fascinate me.  Birdseye, Veronica persica, is a tiny flowering "weed" that grows along the street or sidewalks.  A close-up view with the macro lens shows how delicate and beautiful this little flower is.  And I love the pure shade of blue!